Harmonized Beer Report for European Nations for September 2024

By Danny Hogan, The Quinnipiac University Economics Research Team

European Beer Index

Source: FRED and own calculations. Rates indexed to be 100 at the start of the period.

Over the past month, all four nations have begun to converge toward similar price levels. Both Germany (Blue) and Ireland (Red) saw slight decreases from August prices but remain 0.25 points higher than prices at the start of May. This follows two consecutive months of price increases for Germany, with September marking the first monthly decline in at least five months. The Czech Republic (Green) and Hungary (Yellow) both experienced a nearly equal price increase, each rising by slightly more than 0.25 points in August. After dropping over one point since early May, August halted the Czech Republic’s declining beer prices with a slight rebound. Meanwhile, Hungarian beer prices are now about 0.5 points below their May 1 levels.

Harmonized Beer Index Historic Trends

Source: FRED and own calculations. The center line is a rolling three-month average. The upper and lower boundaries are the rolling three-month average plus and average minus one standard deviation, respectively, for the same time period.

With a month of small movements within the index, nearly all nations remain within plus or minus one standard deviation from the moving average line (yellow). As price fluctuations have diminished, the boundaries have narrowed considerably over the past eight months. Germany remains close to the rolling average, aligned closely with the Czech Republic (CZ). Ireland stays near the upper boundary, experiencing minimal movement over the past month. Meanwhile, Hungary, despite an increase in price throughout August, remains just below the lower boundary. The significant price drop from June to the end of July is still evident, as prices have not yet fully recovered. With Oktoberfest in full swing, it seems that Europeans have found a stable price for their beer.